... something I found out that I didn't want to know. From the 2016 kids.
Do you need to know what it is to make sure I remember?
[It was bad enough when they all saw her die in the training program, and Artemis wasn't even around for the worst of it--just the bits afterwards where everyone tip toed around her like she was some kind of invalid. Now it might be real and she doesn't want to face it any more than she already has.]
[ Oh. Oh, this is the thing that Robin had mentioned. That they'd agreed to leave up to Artemis herself to share. And while curiosity claws at every inch of her, she refrains from bringing it up. ]
i ... might need to. i might be able to broaden it to a time frame rather than a specific memory but ive never done that before. i dont know if i could do it on the first try or not.
[ Let's not bring up the training program, perhaps. Maybe just for everyone's sake. Even if it's 100% of M'gann being unwilling to face her own fuck ups. ]
[Artemis would gladly go to her grave without bringing that up again. Then again, that phrase has taken on a certain amount of unpleasant immediacy lately.]
[ Hey hey, in fairness, M'gann had asked her to. So it may only be a little surprising to have the door opening almost as soon as she knocks. ]
Be there in a sec!
[ She is at least. Just darting out of her room in a bit of a rush; it had been slightly messy since she'd had Robin over. Rearranging a room from a dance floor back into a bedroom had proven trickier than she'd thought. If only because room decor. ]
[She comes in, not quite sure why M'gann sounds so rushed. The house looks... fine to Artemis. Then again, compared to the apartment she shared with Sportsmaster for six years, most places look pretty nice.
... which is something else M'gann doesn't know about.]
[ M'gann doesn't know a lot of things in this place, ironically. ]
Totally fine. [ She's back to audible speech- at least for the moment. ] I was just uh, tidying my room. Forgot I'd moved everything out of the way for a dance lesson.
Come on in! It's fine now, we can crash on the bed.
[ She will tug you by the wrist, Artemis. Seriously, she hasn't seen another girl properly in days. ]
[Artemis is... surprisingly okay with that. Her strictly enforced personal bubble is much more relaxed when it comes to the girls on the team and M'gann is just one of those people who make personal bubbles seem sort of pointless.
She follows M'gann into the room and sits on the bed, as indicated.]
... Dance lesson? You're really getting into this dance thing.
[ M'gann doesn't do bubbles. I mean she does, she wholly likes her own bubble in it's place and blowing bubbles and bubble baths but-- We're getting off topic.
The bed is made and free for sitting upon, however. Plain as it is. ]
Uh- Well, it was more just for fun. Robin taught me the basics of a few different dances, so I won't show up looking like a total dork to the lessons on Saturday.
[The smile fades and her expression darkens. Right. Things to do... she didn't just come here to hang out with her friend and talk about dancing.
... It would have been nice if she had.]
Yeah. I, um...
[Get it together, Crock.]
So, apparently the future is going to suck... for a lot of reasons. But according to our new teammates, I won't have to worry about it for long because I won't be around to see it...
[She hasn't had to tell anyone yet since they all found out the same time she did. Telling M'gann makes it feel more real and more absurd at the same time.]
[ There will always be time for lighthearted hangouts, talking about dancing and boys and probably M'gann making something to eat-- but this seemed important. Not that she feels any better at seeing the expression on her friend's face dim and darken.
Nor does she seem that pleased to hear what she has to say. The future is going to suck. ... And Artemis won't be there. In five years, five years, she's going to die. How would they know that? Who could possibly-- Impulse. Or Garfield, she supposed, though she felt much less inclined to blame anything on her surrogate brother for many a reason. Even if she had said teammates.
Instead of immediately flying into a fit however, she leans forward and pulls the other girl into a hug. Don't like it? Too bad, it's happening. She's even wiggling around on the bed until she's next to her, rather than across from, to make it more comfortable. ]
That is so not going to happen. The Team wouldn't let it- especially if we can remember when we go back. So don't you worry about a single thing to do with that; we'll fix it.
[Artemis doesn't resist the hug, even if she's not great at hugging. Her hand goes to M'gann's arm, lightly resting there.
Almost all of her teammates has said something to the same effect. She trusts them, she believes them... but there's some small, cold place in the pit of her belly that is still terrified. She always knew she was going to die eventually--even her mom fell, and she was ten times more skilled than Artemis will ever be--but knowing and knowing are very different things.
And then there's Kaldur. Their friend, their leader... The best of them all.
If she thinks about it too much, she can almost hear Jade's voice mocking her for being so trusting.]
Yeah... yeah, we'll fix it.
[After a moment she gently extracts herself from M'gann's hug, but doesn't move away too far.]
So, what do we need to do? How is this going to work?
[ She will hug and hold until Artemis chooses to pull back- and when she does, she'll settle herself again, determined to stay as close as she'd moved. She wasn't about to dwell on the thought of Artemis potentially dying in the future. Not beyond what she was about to do here and now. Because it wouldn't happen. She wouldn't let it.
None of them would. ]
Remember Bialya? It'll be kind of like that, only it'll be your mind, not mine.
[ She'll wait a moment more, and then close her eyes to concentrate, reaching out her mental touch to curl her way inside Artemis' mind. Spectral forms and all. ]
[Artemis closes her eyes and when she opens them, she's not in M'gann's room any more. She standing in a strangely lit space, almost exactly like trip into M'gann's mind in Bialya. Maybe it's just the power of suggestion, but it's similar enough that she glances to the side, half expecting to see Wally and Robin there with her.
Her hand flexes at her side, empty.]
So... this is inside my mind? I thought there'd be more stuff.
[ The levels of empathy are much stronger in here, and it's not hard to tell who she might be missing- but it doesn't mean she's going to point it out. Artemis had been the most resistant in their previous mind-meeting, after all. ]
Well, it can be. I think you're kind of keeping it clear because you're subconsciously expecting it to be like you remember my mind being. But .. This is your mind. You can dream up whatever you like.
[ She'll come closer though, almost near enough to reach out and touch. She doesn't. ]
You're going to have to ... bring up the memory of what you want to remember. I- I can go looking for it, but I figure it might be easier if you bring it to us.
[Almost immediately when M'gann suggests Artemis's subconscious is matching her memories from Bialya the colors change subtly, becoming greener. Darker. And somehow indefinably pointy. Images and memories flicker, almost too quickly to catch, as Artemis's mind tries to settle on what she needs.
Of course, all she can think of right now are things she's not supposed to remember. Things she doesn't want to remember. Sportsmaster's voice calling her "baby girl," Cheshire's mocking laugh and grinning mask, her mom in an orange jumpsuit when they wheeled her away--
No. Not now. She doesn't need to hide any more but not now.
The team, gathered around the computer screens with her family's mugshots on display. Wally's weight against shoulder. In her memory, M'gann steps forward--]
Stop!
[She's shouting at herself and it works. The memory flickers out.
She's tempted to tell M'gann that they're done. This was what she'd been afraid of in Bialya. Let someone in and suddenly secrets are leaking out all over the place. For all her secrets, Artemis can barely tell a decent lie in real life, much less in her own head.
But she needs to remember.]
Okay. Okay, I can do this.
[Despite her words, she looks to M'gann, seeking reassurance.]
[ It's difficult, she'll admit, to keep her own mind from wandering into the memory that's coming forth. But with Artemis clearly on the defensive, struggling to send the memory packing ... Well. She'll have a little help, with M'gann mentally shoving the imagery back without a word.
However curious ... It wasn't her call. But as it does flicker out, she steps closer to the other girl, reaching out a gentle hand to try and take hold. Hand holding is okay between friends, yo. ]
If you want ... If you bring the memories here, I can sense which ones you don't want, and push them back. They won't be hidden, or anything! Not permanently. Just while I'm in here.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
text.
i can do that. if you think its a good idea i wont bring it up to robin just yet.
what is it?
text.
... something I found out that I didn't want to know. From the 2016 kids.
Do you need to know what it is to make sure I remember?
[It was bad enough when they all saw her die in the training program, and Artemis wasn't even around for the worst of it--just the bits afterwards where everyone tip toed around her like she was some kind of invalid. Now it might be real and she doesn't want to face it any more than she already has.]
text.
i ... might need to. i might be able to broaden it to a time frame rather than a specific memory but ive never done that before. i dont know if i could do it on the first try or not.
[ Let's not bring up the training program, perhaps. Maybe just for everyone's sake. Even if it's 100% of M'gann being unwilling to face her own fuck ups. ]
text.
ok.
... ok.
I want to try.
text.
okay.
whenever you want to do it. i have free time now if you want to .... maybe try getting it over with?
text.
yeah, lets do it.
Where should I meet you?
text.
text.
yours[That way she has an escape plan if things get too intense. She's not sure how this is supposed to work.]
what's the address?text.
residence 17
youll be in telepathic range once you're on the street so i'll open the door for you while i tidy up
text. -- action
i'm just a few streets over. see you soon.[Well... that's handy.
Once she gets to the porch she pauses and experimentally thinks ... M'gann?
... because suddenly Artemis has developed telepathic powers and can initiate a mind link? Yeah, better knock instead.
She knocks.]
action
Be there in a sec!
[ She is at least. Just darting out of her room in a bit of a rush; it had been slightly messy since she'd had Robin over. Rearranging a room from a dance floor back into a bedroom had proven trickier than she'd thought. If only because room decor. ]
action
... which is something else M'gann doesn't know about.]
... Everything okay?
action
Totally fine. [ She's back to audible speech- at least for the moment. ] I was just uh, tidying my room. Forgot I'd moved everything out of the way for a dance lesson.
Come on in! It's fine now, we can crash on the bed.
[ She will tug you by the wrist, Artemis. Seriously, she hasn't seen another girl properly in days. ]
action
She follows M'gann into the room and sits on the bed, as indicated.]
... Dance lesson? You're really getting into this dance thing.
action
The bed is made and free for sitting upon, however. Plain as it is. ]
Uh- Well, it was more just for fun. Robin taught me the basics of a few different dances, so I won't show up looking like a total dork to the lessons on Saturday.
action
Pretty sure "looking like a dork" isn't something you need to worry about, M'gann.
action
[ Eheh. But yes, anyway. ]
So! Things to do. You said ... You had something you really wanted to remember when we find a way home.
action
... It would have been nice if she had.]
Yeah. I, um...
[Get it together, Crock.]
So, apparently the future is going to suck... for a lot of reasons. But according to our new teammates, I won't have to worry about it for long because I won't be around to see it...
[She hasn't had to tell anyone yet since they all found out the same time she did. Telling M'gann makes it feel more real and more absurd at the same time.]
I'm going to die in 2016.
action
Nor does she seem that pleased to hear what she has to say. The future is going to suck. ... And Artemis won't be there. In five years, five years, she's going to die. How would they know that? Who could possibly-- Impulse. Or Garfield, she supposed, though she felt much less inclined to blame anything on her surrogate brother for many a reason. Even if she had said teammates.
Instead of immediately flying into a fit however, she leans forward and pulls the other girl into a hug. Don't like it? Too bad, it's happening. She's even wiggling around on the bed until she's next to her, rather than across from, to make it more comfortable. ]
That is so not going to happen. The Team wouldn't let it- especially if we can remember when we go back. So don't you worry about a single thing to do with that; we'll fix it.
action
Almost all of her teammates has said something to the same effect. She trusts them, she believes them... but there's some small, cold place in the pit of her belly that is still terrified. She always knew she was going to die eventually--even her mom fell, and she was ten times more skilled than Artemis will ever be--but knowing and knowing are very different things.
And then there's Kaldur. Their friend, their leader... The best of them all.
If she thinks about it too much, she can almost hear Jade's voice mocking her for being so trusting.]
Yeah... yeah, we'll fix it.
[After a moment she gently extracts herself from M'gann's hug, but doesn't move away too far.]
So, what do we need to do? How is this going to work?
action
None of them would. ]
Remember Bialya? It'll be kind of like that, only it'll be your mind, not mine.
[ She'll wait a moment more, and then close her eyes to concentrate, reaching out her mental touch to curl her way inside Artemis' mind. Spectral forms and all. ]
action
Her hand flexes at her side, empty.]
So... this is inside my mind? I thought there'd be more stuff.
action
Well, it can be. I think you're kind of keeping it clear because you're subconsciously expecting it to be like you remember my mind being. But .. This is your mind. You can dream up whatever you like.
[ She'll come closer though, almost near enough to reach out and touch. She doesn't. ]
You're going to have to ... bring up the memory of what you want to remember. I- I can go looking for it, but I figure it might be easier if you bring it to us.
action
Of course, all she can think of right now are things she's not supposed to remember. Things she doesn't want to remember. Sportsmaster's voice calling her "baby girl," Cheshire's mocking laugh and grinning mask, her mom in an orange jumpsuit when they wheeled her away--
No. Not now. She doesn't need to hide any more but not now.
The team, gathered around the computer screens with her family's mugshots on display. Wally's weight against shoulder. In her memory, M'gann steps forward--]
Stop!
[She's shouting at herself and it works. The memory flickers out.
She's tempted to tell M'gann that they're done. This was what she'd been afraid of in Bialya. Let someone in and suddenly secrets are leaking out all over the place. For all her secrets, Artemis can barely tell a decent lie in real life, much less in her own head.
But she needs to remember.]
Okay. Okay, I can do this.
[Despite her words, she looks to M'gann, seeking reassurance.]
action
However curious ... It wasn't her call. But as it does flicker out, she steps closer to the other girl, reaching out a gentle hand to try and take hold. Hand holding is okay between friends, yo. ]
If you want ... If you bring the memories here, I can sense which ones you don't want, and push them back. They won't be hidden, or anything! Not permanently. Just while I'm in here.
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